E-Mail - Which online e-mail provider do you find is best - eg. GoogleMail, YahooMail etc.

[nannynick]

I am in the process of switching to Mobile Broadband via 3, and in that process I will lose SMTP access. Could pay 3 for SMTP access, but it's costly.

I therefore have a variety of options, one is to use a SMTP service provided by my webhost (at a annual cost - lower then 3 charge), use a provider such as GMail - who I think provides POP and SMTP access, or do everything on-line via GMail, YahooMail etc.

Anyone got any suggestions as to what is best to use? If I use GMail, anyone know if 3 have the SMTP port enabled... or will they be blocking that?

I've got hotmail and gmail - no idea about SMTV hosting, I think that was Ant and Dec

Dunno about 3 access - you used to need an invitation for gmail from a registered user, but I don't think that's the case any more. If it is, give me a shout and I'll send you one.

Will just have a look at gmail and see if they can enlighten me on the SMTP question from that end.....

Oh and can anyone explain simply what IMAP is, and why I would want to enable that? For example, would it use less bandwidth?

C&Ped from gmail:

Getting Started with IMAP for Google Mail
What is IMAP?
IMAP or Internet Message Access Protocol, lets you download messages from Google Mail's servers onto your computer so you can access your mail with a programme such as Microsoft Outlook Express or Apple Mail, even when you aren't connected to the Internet.

IMAP creates a constant connection between mail clients (desktop and/or mobile) and Google Mail.

What's the difference between IMAP and POP?
Unlike POP, IMAP offers two-way communication between your web Google Mail and your email client(s). This means when you log in to Google Mail using a web browser, actions you perform on email clients and mobile devices (for example putting mail in a 'work' folder) will instantly and automatically appear in Google Mail (for example it will already have a 'work' label on that email).

In addition, IMAP provides a better method to access your mail from multiple devices. If you check your email at work, on your mobile phone and again at home, IMAP ensures that new mail is accessible from any device at any given time.

Finally, IMAP offers a more stable experience overall. Whereas POP is prone to losing messages or downloading the same messages multiple times, IMAP avoids this through its two-way syncing capabilities between your mail clients and your web Google Mail.

If you're trying to decide between using POP and using IMAP with your Google Mail account, we recommend IMAP.

How much does IMAP cost?
IMAP for Google Mail is free.

Great! How do I get started?
First, you'll need to enable IMAP in your Google Mail account. Once IMAP is enabled, follow the configuration instructions for your client of choice. Currently, only the clients listed are supported for IMAP. If you'd like to download your Google Mail messages with a different client, please check to see if it's on our list of supported POP clients.

When you've enabled IMAP and set up your client, sign in to Google Mail through the client and watch your messages arrive. You'll notice that all of your custom Google Mail labels will appear in your client as folders, with copies of the messages to which you've applied those labels. While we'd like to make your IMAP experience match the Google Mail web interface as much as possible, some Google Mail-specific features and terms, such as conversation threading and stars, won't appear in your client. Don't worry; you can still perform all the usual Google Mail functions, just in a slightly different way. The IMAP behaviour chart shows you how to perform common functions on your IMAP client.

Please note that every client handles IMAP in a slightly different way. If you're curious about the specific use of your client, please contact the client's support team.

Googlemail info

Thanks. I think then that IMAP will use more data... so have configured Gmail to collect mail from my Domain, then allow me to download that mail, from Gmail, via POP3 and send mail using smtp.gmail.com

That seems to be working, at least via my current broadband provider.

Will try switching connections, to see if 3 will permit the ports used by Gmail POP (port 995) and Gmail SMTP (port 25)

Yes, that works. 3 permits those ports.

So I think that's sorted... all mail will go to Gmail... from where it then gets downloaded to my laptop as and when I have it connected.

I realise that you have already done this but I would reconsider depending on how much hassle it is.

IMAP is newer and better than POP3 - although it will be a long time coming I think that POP3 will eventually be phased out.

IIRC If you go for POP3 the emails will be downloaded from your gmail server onto your computer. This means that you will need to be oon your computer to see your mails. OTOH if you use IMAP the emails are copied onto your computer. This means that you could come to my house (if your really wanted to do such a thing ) and log onto google and see all of your emails.

I can't see why it will use more data - but I could be wrong.

The major difference is that a copy of hte email stays on the google server - which is there problem not yours. And given that they allocate you oodles of space you shouldn't run out of space for new emails.

Good thought. At present I have configured Gmail to ARCHIVE any e-mail which is downloaded via POP. So it is still on their server, but hidden from usual view (but clicking on the ALL MAIL link, shows all the e-mail including archived mail).

Will consider switching to IMAP once I have been using 3 Mobile Broadband for a few months, thus know what my usual traffic is (I have a 3GB per month limit).